Blog Smarter: Easy Wins for Small Businesses

In this conversation, Peg Fitzpatrick and Mike Allton delve into the world of blogging, discussing its evolution, the importance of owning content, and how small businesses can leverage blogging as a tool for growth. They explore the role of AI in content creation, common mistakes made by bloggers, and strategies for optimizing blog content. The discussion emphasizes the need for small businesses to prioritize blogging as part of their overall content marketing strategy while addressing the challenges and opportunities modern digital platforms present.

Takeaways

  • Blogging is a passion that can evolve into a business.
  • Owning your content is crucial in the digital landscape.
  • Small businesses should use blogs to drive business goals.
  • Content marketing is more relevant than ever for businesses.
  • Updating old content is essential for maintaining relevance.
  • AI can assist in strategizing and brainstorming content ideas.
  • Common blogging mistakes include not posting regularly and overthinking content.
  • Small business owners should share their unique stories through blogging.
  • Engaging with your audience is key to building trust.
  • A strong online presence is vital for small business success.
  • Blogging can be a powerful tool for small businesses.
  • Authenticity in writing is crucial for effective communication.
  • Repurposing content can maximize reach and engagement.
  • Understanding learning styles helps tailor content delivery.
  • Creating ‘hero content' can lead to multiple smaller content pieces.
  • Engaging with customers through interviews can enhance content.
  • Measuring success requires clear goals and metrics.
  • Using various media formats can cater to different audience preferences.
  • Networking with other businesses can create valuable content opportunities.
  • Content marketing should focus on building relationships, not just traffic.

QUOTABLES:

  • “I just wanted to be able to write.”
  • “You need your own platform.”
  • “Your blog should be there to help drive other business goals.”
  • “Write the same way you would communicate.”
  • “Repurposing it is a big thing.”

00:00 Introduction to Blogging Passion

02:01 The Evolution of Blogging and Content Creation

04:42 The Importance of Owning Your Content

07:37 Blogging for Small Businesses

09:54 Content Marketing Strategy for Small Businesses

11:46 Updating and Optimizing Old Content

14:04 Leveraging AI in Blogging

19:25 Common Blogging Mistakes and Solutions

25:22 Navigating Blogging and Social Media for Small Businesses

37:58 Measuring Success in Content Marketing

The PopUp Social Media Success Series is a special seven-week podcast and Instagram Live series hosted by Peg Fitzpatrick, author of The Art of Small Business Social Media: A Blueprint for Marketing Success. Each week, Peg is joined by a new guest—industry experts and social media pros—sharing actionable tips, strategies, and insights designed to help small businesses elevate their social media game. From mastering AI to engaging your community and leveraging platforms like Pinterest, this series offers a fresh perspective on the tools and tactics small businesses can use to grow their online presence and connect with their ideal audience. Catch all the episodes and join the conversation on Instagram Live every Tuesday at 1 pm ET!

TRANSCRIPT – lightly edited.

Peg Fitzpatrick

Hey everyone! I'm Peg Fitzpatrick, and today we're diving into blogging. I’m about to invite my friend Mike Allton to join, so let me just get him here…

Welcome to everyone joining! Mike will be here in just a second. Hello, everybody. Hey, Mike! How are you doing?

Mike Allton

Hey, Peg! I'm fantastic, thanks. How are you?

Peg Fitzpatrick

I'm great! I guess I'm excited—my voice just went all over the place. It’s so cool to have you live here since usually, we’re just working in our offices.

Mike Allton

Right? Exactly! Most days, we’re just in our little bubbles.

Peg Fitzpatrick

You’re podcasting now, so I bet you’re talking to people all day long, right?

Mike Allton

All day, every day. It’s a bit outside my comfort zone, but I'm getting used to it. Honestly, I don’t even know how many interviews I’ve done. It’s been hundreds, spread across different shows. But today we’re here for blogging, which is what I love most—turning off the lights, enjoying the fall weather with a PSL, and just writing.

Peg Fitzpatrick

I totally get that. For those watching now or listening later, Mike and I have been friends for over a decade—right, Mike? Was it around 2011, back when Google Plus was a thing? I don’t remember exactly, but it's been ages. Blogging is what really brought us together because it’s our first love. If we could choose, that’s what we’d do—just blog all day, every day. We were doing live videos too, but, you know, that was once those tools were invented. We’re kind of live video pioneers!

Mike Allton

Exactly, but our hearts were always in blogging. I’ve been at it for a long time. I actually started by doing website development in the mid-2000s, but it didn't go well. I built all these powerful websites for clients, but they didn’t use them. I was using a platform called Drupal, which, let’s face it, most people haven’t heard of. It was better than WordPress, in my opinion, but to market my business, I started blogging about social media and digital marketing to help those clients. And that's when I realized I loved teaching people through written content—whether it was about Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging, or even office furniture. I eventually closed up my web development business and launched “The Social Media Hat” in 2011, just as a place to blog. Honestly, there was no business model. I didn’t have big plans or aspirations. I just wanted to write.

Peg Fitzpatrick

Yeah, back then, it took a while for blogging or content in general to have a business model. Nowadays, it seems so obvious—like, “I’ll do X and make money from Y.” But that didn’t exist in the early days. It was all just passion, and maybe some partnerships with companies later. For most of us, it wasn't a big moneymaker at first. It's funny, though, because so many of those big, early blogs are gone now.

Mike Allton

Right? Mashable is one of the few still hanging around, but it’s not like the old days when it had a big impact. I rarely hear people mention it now. For me, blogging has been off and on—a side hustle, then a primary gig, then back to a side hustle. I was a CMO for a company for years, and now I've been with Agorapulse for seven years as my main job. Social media blogging has stayed my side hustle. I think I've written a couple thousand articles at this point—many of them have been unpublished, like the Google Plus content that’s no longer relevant.

Peg Fitzpatrick

Just recently, I found an old link to an article I wrote for HubSpot’s blog about socializing an event. They’d changed the content but kept my URL—thanks a lot, HubSpot. People often think blogging is dead, but I don’t see it that way. Just the other day, I posted on Threads about this. People say, “Join my Substack, subscribe here…” and claim they “own” their content because that's what the terms of service say. But is it really yours? It’s like writing for Huffington Post—you’re stuck there, and they aren't interested in whether you grow or get subscribers. They just want to keep people on their platform. What’s your take on that?

Peg Fitzpatrick

I’m with you. The thing is, these platforms say it’s “your” content, but if people are on Substack, they may not want you to take their email and put it elsewhere. I’ve been added to Substacks I never signed up for, and I didn’t ask for that. I'd much rather read someone's website than be funneled into yet another subscription.

The other day, I read a New York Times article about Tina Brown joining Substack to share her views. I found it ridiculous—like, she’s supposed to be independent, away from traditional media? But no, she’s just on another platform with their rules. That’s why my hot take is this: you need your own platform. You need somewhere that’s yours to put your stuff. We already give up a lot with platforms like Instagram for so-called “exposure.” Even if blogs aren't as popular as they once were, I still believe you need your own space.

Mike Allton

Absolutely. I don't think that will ever change. You need a place you own, where you control everything—not just the data, but the experience. When you send someone to a Substack article, your brand isn’t in the masthead. It’s Substack’s. You don’t have your content in the sidebar; it’s theirs. It’s the same issue with YouTube—after someone watches your video, who knows what they'll see next? It could be anything. And on some platforms like X (formerly Twitter), related posts or videos might not be things you want associated with your content. You have no control. That’s why it’s risky.

Peg Fitzpatrick

So true. So for small businesses that have maybe let their blog slide, or tried and got stuck, what are some benefits of getting back into it?

Mike Allton

I love this question, especially because it’s for small businesses. We’re not talking to pro bloggers or content creators here. If you’re a small business, your blog should serve your broader business goals. What those goals are can vary a lot. It could be driving traffic, but I’ll be honest: in 2025 or 2026, I wouldn’t count on organic search traffic from Google or Bing. With the rise of AI, a lot of that traffic is not what you want anyway—it's often just people looking up random stuff. My most popular post is about tagging and mentioning on Facebook, and people mostly come because they want to untag themselves from some ex-boyfriend's post.

The real question for businesses is: what’s your content marketing strategy? I even use the term “blogging” less now and prefer “content marketing.” It's not about creating content for content's sake. It’s about using it as part of a larger strategy. Your content can support advertising campaigns, like putting a relevant blog post in a LinkedIn or Facebook ad to reach people for the first time. We call this top-of-the-funnel content. You can create something interesting for your target audience and promote it. And, because you own the content, you control the calls to action—whether it's in the sidebar or an exit pop-up.

That’s just one way to use a blog. It doesn’t mean you need to churn out 50 posts. You could create five strategic blog posts for the entire year. If done well, that’s enough. Blog content is also great for supporting sales. If you’re selling a service with a long buying cycle, your blog can be a tool to nurture prospects—whether through LinkedIn outreach or in your email funnel. It doesn’t need to be a weekly blog, but it should be purposeful.

Peg Fitzpatrick

Do you have a strategy for updating your old content? Maybe not your Facebook tagging article, but do you update things that are more evergreen? For example, I have a post on Pinterest hashtags that I've had to change multiple times because Pinterest keeps changing its approach. Sometimes hashtags work, sometimes they don't, and I just keep updating it because it does bring in traffic.

I also do this on company blogs that I manage, especially if things change or if I feel the content needs more depth—adding more examples or updating the SEO. Sometimes, I just zhuzh things up, you know, give it more juice to make it more useful. Do you ever do that?

Mike Allton

Absolutely, and I think it’s a smart strategy for any business. It’s so important to pay attention to your target audience and ensure that the content you're relying on is up-to-date. If you're counting on organic search traffic, you definitely need to be updating older posts.

One thing that many people overlook is what I call “forward linking.” When you create new content, it’s pretty standard to link back to old articles, but people rarely go back to older posts and add links to newer content. You should, though! It’s an easy way to refresh and boost older content.

Let’s say you have an older article about renting cabanas in Mexico. If you create new articles on related topics, like how to plan a beach vacation, go back and link those old articles to the new one. I use a tool called Link Whisper, which is a WordPress plugin that uses AI to help with this. It reviews your drafts and suggests internal links to older content that you might have forgotten about. It even provides a report showing all your older articles that could be updated to link to the new one. You can add up to 50 links at a time. It’s invaluable if you’ve got a big archive of content, like you and I do.

Peg Fitzpatrick

I love that! I’ll definitely check it out. What about AI tools—how can they assist in making blogging easier for small business owners or anyone with a blog? I know you're into AI, just like me.

Mike Allton

I love AI! But let me be clear—generally, I don't recommend letting AI write entire posts for you. There are exceptions, though. If you’re a dry-cleaning company in Madison and just need some basic content for your site, AI-generated content could be just fine. Of course, you’d still need to review it and make sure it’s up to your standards, and you should spend time training the AI properly so that it knows your brand and target audience.

For instance, you can use tools like Claude or ChatGPT to train AI on who you are and who you’re trying to reach. If you’re targeting corporate clients in Madison, the AI needs to understand that so it creates relevant, on-brand content.

For most of us, though, I love using AI as a strategist rather than a full content writer. Small business owners can sit down with ChatGPT and say, “Here’s my business. Ask me questions to help develop a content strategy that fits my budget and time constraints.” AI works best when you give it a goal and then let it ask questions to help you achieve that goal.

People often ask me about prompting frameworks, but honestly, I don't use a rigid framework. I just tell ChatGPT what I want to accomplish, and then I ask it to guide me there. I’ve used it for brand stories, marketing strategies, even non-business-related things. The magic happens when you allow the AI to ask you questions.

The AI might ask about your ideal client, and you might not know the answer right away. But as long as you’re willing to provide as much information as you can, you’ll end up with a really tailored strategy. Plus, it can help brainstorm topics, create comprehensive outlines, and identify gaps that you might not have noticed. It helps me turn a short post into a longer, more valuable piece—sometimes from 500 words to 2,000—just by prompting me to cover additional aspects of a topic.

Peg Fitzpatrick

Right! I also like to do little “check-ins” with AI. I’ll ask it, “Tell me who my target audience is and describe my brand voice.” It’s just a way to ensure everything’s aligned. It's like a recap, and it keeps everything consistent without me having to recreate the wheel. Sometimes, though, I get weird responses, and I’m like, “What happened here?” That’s when I just close that window and start over.

Have you noticed it seems to be slowing down recently? It used to shoot out answers so fast, but now it’s taking more time—like it's trying to make it look more human.

Mike Allton

Totally! There are two things at play. First, it’s trying to be more human-like, much like Data from Star Trek trying not to be so robotic. The second thing is that GPT-4 actually evaluates its responses before giving them to you, which improves accuracy but does make it a bit slower. I think it’s worth it for the better quality.

Peg Fitzpatrick

I agree. So, what are some common blogging mistakes you see small businesses making, and how can they avoid them?

Mike Allton

The first big mistake is not creating content at all or not doing it consistently. Often, people think they don’t have the bandwidth, but really it’s about priorities. If you feel like you don’t have time, you need to reassess how important your online presence is for your business.

Another mistake is getting caught in perfectionism. Some people have 16 drafts and think they all suck, so they don’t publish anything. In those cases, I'd say—first, they’re probably fine. Second, get someone else to look at them. Find someone you trust who can give you honest feedback, but be nice about it. You need constructive feedback, not just someone saying, “Yeah, it’s all great” when it’s not.

And then there’s spending too much time on a single post. If you’re spending eight hours on a blog post, something’s off. It’s likely you're overthinking it, over-editing, or doing way too much research. Blogging should support your main business; it shouldn’t become the main thing unless that’s your core job.

Peg Fitzpatrick

Exactly! Small business owners are the most passionate about their products and services, so their insights are great for people to discover. Even simple things like the story behind your company or showing how to use your product—these are things only you can share.

It’s always a bit disappointing when a small business doesn’t have an “About” page. I always check it because I like to know who's behind the company. We want to buy from people we know and trust, and that’s even more true for local businesses.

Peg Fitzpatrick

Hey, everyone listening, what do you think of Substack? Let us know in the comments—I want to know if you like it! So, we talked about blogging mistakes, like overthinking and frequency.

Mike Allton

Yeah, exactly. One of the biggest mistakes I see, especially with business owners and bloggers just starting out, is trying to write in a way that doesn’t match how they normally communicate. My best advice? Write how you speak. Write like you're talking to a customer, a partner, or a prospect. Authenticity matters—it should sound like you and represent your business genuinely.

And what you're doing right now, Peg, is exactly what I love to see: turning live conversations into content. Whether it's interviewing employees, partners, or customers, these recorded conversations can become incredible blog posts. At Agorapulse, I host four podcasts, and all I do is interview prospects and customers. It allows me to tell their stories, and it helps me present Agorapulse authentically.

Peg Fitzpatrick

This is the second in a series of seven live streams I'm doing—one every Tuesday. At first, I thought I’d just go live and share it on Instagram, but then I realized I needed to do more with it. So, I edited the video and posted it on YouTube, turned it into a podcast, and then wrote a blog post where I linked everything. People consume content in so many different ways—some prefer watching live, some like reading, and others prefer podcasts. I personally love reading content more than watching or listening, but that's just me. It all comes down to different learning styles.

Back in school, did you like when the teacher wrote on the board, or did you prefer reading quietly and answering questions independently? That was totally me—reading comprehension, silent reading—that was my jam. But I also love a great speaker. Like, if Brene Brown wants to get up and speak, I'm here for it!

Mike Allton

Absolutely, everyone learns differently. As small business owners, we need to recognize that not everyone consumes content the same way. TikToks, Reels, and YouTube videos are amazing, but they’re only reaching part of the audience. Personally, I prefer writing, but I recognize that by starting with video, I can transform that content into so many formats: audio, long-form articles, social snippets, and more.

Peg Fitzpatrick

That’s a perfect way to describe it: start with the “hero content” and repurpose it into smaller pieces. Some people will only want those shorter bits, but eventually, they might decide they want the whole thing, and they'll come to your blog for it. It’s also great for SEO—if people come to your site and stick around to watch a full interview or listen to a podcast, that’s gold for organic search.

Mike Allton

Exactly! And by having the full content on your website, whether it’s a video or podcast, you’re keeping people on your platform, not sending them off to YouTube or Spotify where they’ll get distracted. If you embed the podcast or video directly on your site, they’ll only see your content. It’s all about creating a great user experience and maximizing those moments of connection.

Peg Fitzpatrick

Exactly. Whether it's video-first or podcast-first, creating that core piece and breaking it into smaller content is such an effective way to work. Plus, having conversations like this spurs so many new ideas compared to sitting in front of a blank screen. The energy from a live conversation, the spontaneous thoughts that come out—it's just different. It’s a great way to brainstorm and create authentically. If you’re a small business owner, just having a conversation with someone can spark content ideas. Even simple interactions at places like the Chamber of Commerce or Rotary Club can lead to moments where you realize, “Hey, that's something I should share about my business.”

Peg Fitzpatrick

For example, you might think, “Why do I make hand-braided leather belts with custom buckles?”—those are the stories people love to hear. I saw a creator on Instagram recently; she has this beautifully aesthetic office and makes tech-related products like phone chargers and desk mats. Her office aesthetic really sells her products, and her videos are just her sharing her setup—no hard sell, just authenticity. And she’s a small business owner too, creating things, printing them, and selling out because people connect with her vibe.

Peg Fitzpatrick

Okay, Mike, I know we’ve been going on for a while, but let’s wrap up with this: How can business owners measure the success of their blogging efforts?

Mike Allton

You can look at several metrics—traffic, leads, sales—all those are easily trackable with tools like Google Analytics or WordPress plugins. But you need to be clear about your goals from the start and have those metrics in place.

For instance, maybe your goal is to build a repository of customer success stories. You could use a live video or podcast format, bringing on customers to share their stories: What were their challenges? How did your business help them? You want to position the customer as the hero, with your business coming in as the sidekick that supports them. In this case, success might be measured by how many of these stories you’re able to create each month or year, and how often your sales team uses them in conversations.

Another example is partnering with other local businesses. Let’s say you’re a real estate agent—consider collaborating with mortgage lenders, inspectors, or construction companies. You bring those experts onto your content platform, and now you have valuable information for your audience. Plus, those partners will share your content with their audiences, spreading your reach even further.

Peg Fitzpatrick

Totally agree. So, where can people find you, Mike?

Mike Allton

If you’ve got questions about content marketing, social media, or AI, go to thesocialmediahat.com/connect. You’ll find all my social channels, my podcast, blog—everything there.

Peg Fitzpatrick

Thank you so much for your time, Mike! And thanks, everyone, for watching. Sorry about the interruption earlier, but I'm glad we got to finish it up. I’ll put both parts together into a longer video for everyone.

Next week, I’ll be live again on Tuesday at 1:00 PM with Sandra Sallin, an 83-year-old beauty blogger—she’s incredible! People say that at a certain age you can’t do technology, but she proves them wrong every day. Thanks again, everyone, and have a great day. Bye!